Starting internal-combustion engines.



H. W. BENDER. STARTING INTERNAL CGMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. l9l5.

Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES H. W. BENDER.

STARTING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20. 1915.

1 ,2 7 9, 63 6 Patented Sept. 24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I 1 HenryWBender o@ C H'OLIHM 6- 5 $7645 HENRY W. BENIDER, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

STARTING INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 24 1918.

Application filed March 20, 1915. Serial No. 15,933.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY W. BENDER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York borough of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Internal Combustion Engines, of which the following'is a specification.

My invention comprises certain impr0ve-- ments relating to the starting of internal combustion engines; particularly engines'of the Diesel type, wherein compression of the contents of the working cylinder is carried to such a point that the fuel will ignite-the instant that it is admitted .to the cylinder; and the primary object of my invention is to provide both a' method and .an apparatus bywhich a .Diesel engine can be easily, quickly, and effectively started, without the use of the complicated devices which have heretofore been employed for'this purpose- It is well known that the Diesel type of internal combustionengine is the most' efficient motor of its kind that has been developed; and the advantages of the Diesel engine are such that its value is now established for marine use and for stationary in stallations on land. In automobile practice, however, it has notyet roven feasible to utilize the Diesel engine, espite the fact that, with a Diesel engine, carburation and plants, havingplenty of space for air tanks,. piping and the like, is not adapted to a car;

which has no room to spare for any additional appliances. Hence the need of pro-.

.v-iding for motor vehicles a special form of starting apparatus that is simple, con

venient to operate, and of small compass.

I have endeavored by means of the invention herein set forth to solve the above men-.

tioned problems; and I aimto do so by pre' venting compression in the working-cham-' ber of the engine, so as to allow the pistons to move freely; and'theii rotating the flywheel till it accumulates enough'energy to be able to cause the pistons to compress the contents of the chamber to the .high point necessary to produce instant ignition of the fuel, when compression is allowed to occur and the fuel is injected. -The flywheel can be operated either by hand or by a small motor; and the engine can be controlled in the starting process either manually orby a governor actuated by the engine when the speed of the flywheel reaches a rate corresponding to the amount of kinetic energy or energy of rotation that is needed. With the pistons free to move under conditions that temporarily eliminate compression in the engine cylinders the necessary degree of kinetic energy of theflywheel can readily be acquired. The above and other objects and advantages of my invention are fully described in the following specification, and illuse trated in the accompanying drawings;

which show one or more embodiments of my invention, and the method of applying .the same. On said drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through one cylinder of a Diesel engine of the two cycle type; constructed in accordance withmy invention, and showing the means for Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but

showing a four-cycle Diesel engine;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, through the end of the cylinder shownin Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a top plan of a Diesel engine of the four-cycle type with my starting devices applied to the same.

Fig. 7 is a detail view, showing another way of utilizing my invention on a twocycle engine; and

Alb

6. I shall set forth the mode of applying my invention by referring to a two-cylinder engine, which will of course have its pistons set 180' degrees apart; and will be suf ficient for purposes of illustration. Such an engine Will have a flywheel 7; and'the elements above named will be common to both the two-cycle and the four-cycle type.

I shall now take up the two-cycle 0011-.

struction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; and it will be understood that each cylinder will have an inlet port 8 and an exhaust port 9, shown as being located in proper positions in the sides of the cylinders 1, and on opposite sides thereof; the port 9 being of course in advance of the port 8 in each cylinder, so as to be overrun first by the piston on its outstroke. The port 8 will be connected to a scavenge airpump, which may be in the crank case, if it is desired to construct the crank case especiallyfor this purpose; or may be placed elsewhere. The port 8 may of course be located in the head of the cylinder and be controlled by avalve in the well known way; as it is onlynecessary that this port should be opened at the end of the power stroke of the piston, and that scavenging air under slight pressure should be delivered to it at that, instant. \Vith the port 8 in the position shown in Fig. 1, the piston 2 will of course have a projection 10 to deflect the incoming air toward the opposite end of the cylinder 1.

In the head of each cylinder is the easing of a fuel valve 11, which contains a stem opening outward to permit liquid hydrocarbon to be injected at the inner end of the instroke of the iston; and beside the fuel valve in each cy inder head is an inward opening valve 12, the function of whichis to prevent compression by opening the-interior of the engine to the atmosphere when the engine is to be started. Each valve casing 11 may have a nipple 13 to connect it by means of piping -to the fuel pump and to the air reservoir also, if compressed air to inject the fuel is employed. I form the stem 14 of each fuel valve with a head, and subject the same to the pressure of a coiled spring to'keep the stem in closing position. Likewise the jhead of each aaraeae valve 12 is provided with a head 16 and a similar spring 17 keeps the valve 12 normally closed also.

To start my engine, I simply open the valves 12, and hold them open to prevent compression in the cylinders; so as to permit the flywheel, the crankshaft, and the pistons 2 to move freely, In order to impart motion to the parts named, I provide for engaging the end of the shaft 3 opposite the wheel 7 by means of a handcrank; or for coupling thesame to a small motor, which may be operated by an electric current. The shaft is therefore made to carry a fixed clutch member 18, and the device for turning the shaft 3 and spinning the flywheel through this clutch member 18 is diagrammaltically indicated at 19. It will be readily seen that, when the pistons are able 'to move freely in the cylinders, the flywheel can, with very little power, :be made to rotaJte very rapidly; and the fuel supply will of'course be interrupted, preferably by preventing the fuel valves 11 from injecting fuel into the cylinders so long as the valves 12 remain in open position. When the energy of the flywheel is suflicient, the valves 12 are closed and the fuel supply restored. Then the pistons are forced to compress the air in the cylinders to the ignition point of 'the fuel charge, which is injected into each cylinder 1 at the end of the instroke of the piston, and the first explosions result. I

shall now give a detailed account of the mechanism by which such a mode of opera tion is afforded.

I cause each valve stem 14: to be moved to open its valve 11 by means of bellcrank levers 20, mounted on a spindle 21. This spindle 21 is arranged along the sides of the cylinders, and the upper arm of-ea'ch bellcrank lever, 20 will have a forked end which passes under the head on the stem 14, to lift this stem when this arm rises. On the spindle 21 will be eccentrics 22, which fit apertures in the levers 20, and the lower end of each lever 20 may carry a roller 23 to be engaged by a cam 24 on the camshaft 25. This camshaft 25 i'sof course driven byvbe'aring from the crankshaft-3; and in the two cycle engine it will run at the same speed as the crankshaft. Each cam 24 will ings for the camshaft 25. These arms are omitted for the sake of clearness on Figs. 1 and 2. V

In order to open the valves 12 in each of the cylinders, I mount levers 27 in position to press/upon the heads 16 of. the stems of these valves. These levers are each carried upon a spindle 28, forming a pivot, and secured at its ends in arms 29 on the frame work; the arms 29 being similar to the arms 26,,and being illustrated in Fig. 3. The levers 27 may have rollers in their ends; and they are actuated to open the valves 12 by cams 30 on the spindle 21. Rigid with the spindle 21 is a starting lever in the shape .of a rock arnr31; which, when moved from the broken-line position to the full-line position indicated in Fig. 2, will rock the spindle 21 to such an extent that the cams 30 will actuate the levers 27 to force the valves 12 to open; and at the same time the eccentrics 22 will shift the bellcranks 20 so as to move their lower arms carrying the rollers 23 away from the cams 24. Hence the valves which admit the fuel will be prevented from opening, and the fuel supply will thus be interrupted; While at the same time the valves 12 will keep the interior of the cylinders in communication with the atmosphere. Normally the eccentrics 22 shown in Fig. 1 will extend vertically downward; and the cams 30 shown in Fig. 2 horizontallyto the left. When the starting lever is pulled down, it will of course not have the effect of moving the stems 14 of the valves 12 upward against the springs 15, through the levers 20; because the springs 15 will be made strong enough to keep the valves 1]. closed, as will be readily understood.

Hence, when it is desired to start the engine, all the attendant or chauffeur has to do is to pull the lever 31 downward; and then set the crankshaft and flywh'eel into rapid rotation. The lever 31 can be connected by suitable linkage to be manipulated from any convenient Point, such as the dashboard of the car or the drivers seat. After the fly wheel acquires sufficient energy of rotation,

the starting lever 31 is caused to return to the vertical; and this movement effects both the closing of the valve 12 and the restoring of the fuel supply by putting the bellcranks 20 back into operative position with respect to the cams 24 on the shaft 25.

The lever 31 can be returned to its original position, by hand; and the starting can be performed Without other'appliances in this way. This method of starting is practicable because the flywheel 7 can easily be rotated fast enough to cause the pistons 2 to pro- (luce full compression several times in succession, after the-"valves 12close and the fuel valves 11 are again made operative; and if the closing of the engine should hapports in the first cylinder 1 are opened at the end of the outstroke; and thus any danger of preignition' from fuel in the cylinder at the beginning of the instroke, and inter? ference with the proper starting of the engine, is avoided.

It is immaterial, for small engines, what may be the instantaneous position of the pis-' ton in either cylinder when the lever 31 is turned back from starting position. If one of the pistons is about to make its instroke, as in'Fig. 1, it will effect full compression and produce anexplosion as soonas compression is finished. At the, same time, the piston in the other cylinder will be moving outward; and though the lever 27 of the other cylinder no longer engages the head 16 of its valve 12, this valve 12 will nevertheless be held open by suction on the outstroke of the other piston; 50 that the other piston does not then have to work against the atmosphere, and thus none .of the energy of the flywheel 7 is lost. Further, if.

when the engine is closed and the fuel valves again made operative, the piston in the first cylinder should be, for instance, halfwa the first cylinder will be given back to the first piston moving outward; and when halfway on its outstroke, the first piston will cause the valve 12 in the first cylinder to openby suction; and a partial vacuum in the first cylinder, with waste of energy of the flywheel 7 will never occur.

If preferred, I may provide mechanical devices which actautomatically to'closethe valves 12 and restore the fuel supply as soon as sufiicient energy of rotation of the flywheel has been accumulated. Such devices are illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. I therefore place a coiled spring .32 on one end of the spindle 21, fixing the spring to the spindle 21 and to one of the arms 26, to turn back.

the spindle 21 quickly. On the spindle 21 is rigidly mounted a cam 33 having a-ratchet tooth; and this tooth is engaged by a catch in the shape of a pawl 34 when the starting lever is moved to broken line position, re ferring to Fig. 2. The pawl 34 may be mounted on a spindle 35, journaled in the arms 29; orupon a pivot secured to one of these arms. It is connected to be operated by ,a governor, which may be the regular governor of the engine, or a special governor for the purpose in hand. I show the governor inFig. 2 as mounted upon a shaft 36, geared to the camshaft 25. This governor comprises weighted arms 37, pivoted to a fixed collar 38 on the shaft 36; and arranged to engage and move along the shaft 36 a make the link '41 revolve with them. To

make the engine complete, there will be a fuel pump 42 driven by the camshaft 25- and connected by piping t'o the fuel valves.

' The complete operation of the engine shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 will'now be described When the engine is to be put into motion, the lever 31 will be rocked to shift the bell cranks 20 away from the cams 24,

which will rotate when the shaft 3 begins to rotate; and to open the valves 12. The flywheel 7 and the shaft 3 will now be set into rapid rotation and .the pistons allowed to,

move freely in the cylinders 1. If the engine is a small one, the flywheel can easlly be made to spin, even by hand, till it accumulates enough energy to causethe pistons to effect full compression several times in succession in each cylinder by turns; and if the engine is relatively large, a starting motor indicated at 19 will be employed. Therefore, when the lever 31 is moved back to close the engine, an explosion will be produced in one of the cylinders before the energy of the flywheel is exhausted; no matter what the relative positions of the pistons may be when the air valves shut.

As for the scavenge pumps, they compress to only a few pounds per square inch; and very little energy of the flywheel 7 will be consumed by them. Hence no provision need be made for throwing out these pumps; and they may be placed in the crankcase if desired.

Moreover, the fuel pump 42 need not be disconnected from the shaft 25, especially if it is simply a force pump; and does not require the assistance of compressed air to inject the fuel. Under such circumstances, no air compression pump will be needed at all; and the attendant or chauffeur has only to see that the piping is full of oil first (which may be done by the first revolution or two of the flywheel and crankshaft after the valves 12 are opened) and then manipulate the pump to hold open the suction valve thereof, or the exhaust valve thereof, for

the time being. Such fuel pumps are in common-use, and it-is thought that there is no necessity to describe their construction in detail here. It suffices to say that the fuel pump may be constructed so that the delivery valve may be temporarily held open to avoid too much fuel being supplied to the pi-pingleading to the valves 11 at starting; and the inlet valve may also be held open by manipulating certain parts, so as to put the 1 pump out of commission when the operator wants the engine to stop. These adjustments are capable of being made without interfering with or disturbing the connections leading from the pump to the regular engine governor. After the flywheel is set to spinning,

the operator restores the'parts of the pump vto their normal positions when he moves back the lever 31, or a little in advance; so as to make sure that the-hydrocarbon in the piping leading to the fuel valves will be under suflicientpressure to enter-the cylinders when the valves 12 return to their seats.

On the other hand, if injection air is resorted to, the piping leading to the valves 11 only requires to be full of oil at starting;

the fuel pump manipulated in the same way; and the air compression pump disconnected tlll the engine is regularly running. The

air in the starting reservoir will be suflicient to blow, fuel into the cylinders 1 from the fuel valves 11 when the latter are opened, to give the first couple of explosions; and it will then be a simple matter to make the engine pick up its pumps and takeon its load. Of course the air pump may be left in gear with the shaft 3 and moved with the pistons by the flywheel 7; for, though the alrpump compresses to a very high point, it works upon only a small volume of air-at one time; and the energy it consumes is not enough to prevent the wheel 7 from being turned as fastas may be necessary.

The clutch connecting the shaft 3 to the shaft of the automobile is shown in Fig. 3 at 43; and the air compression pump 44' may be driven by gearing, includin a suitable clutch, from a point on the sha t 3 between.

the flywheel 7 and the clutch 43. By-this arrangement the pump 44, when injection air is employed, can be kept-running when the car is standing still.

When I employ a governor to trip the pawl 34 to release the cam 33, starting is effected in substantially the same way. First the lever 31' is moved to open the valves 12 and interrupt the fuel supply by shifting the levers 20. The awl 34 then engages the cam 33 and hol s the spindle against the spring 32. When the fuel pump. is

spindle 21 is released and the spring 32 turns it back to allow the valves 12 to close and thevalves 11 to resume operation. The governor may easily be connected to put the fuel pump at the right instant into con-,

dition to operate also; or the 1;;fuel pump may be restored by hand.

If compressed air-for injecting the fuel is required, the chauffeur sees as before that the fuel piping is full of oil before he temporarily sets the fuel pump. tostop the, supply. Then with the flywheel spinning.

rapidly, as the engine cylinders close up by the valves 12 being liberated and the fuel supply is restored, the pressure of the air in the air reservoir sprays the fuel into the cylinders in succession.

disconnected or not, as circumstances dictate. 1

For a two-cycle engine havin' four'cylinders, the mode of starting will e the same. In such an engine, the pistons will move in pairs; and two will start on their instrokes together; while the other two move outward. The air valves12 will becaused to shut and the fuel supply be reestablished when two of the pistons start inward; and the air valves of the. other two cylinders held open by suction till the other two pistons make their instrokes.

Obviously, instead of shifting'the levers 20, so as to suspend the mechanical action of the valves 11, I may pivot the levers 20 in the ordinary way without eccentrics on the spindle 21; and allow the cams 24 to open the valves 11 when the valves 12 are held open to peimitthe flywheel and the crankshaft to speed up. To make this method of starting practicable, the fuel supply must be interrupted by putting the fuel pump out of action till the starting lever is ready to be turned back. If the fuel pump is a force pump,- requiring no compressed air to inject the fuel, the 'connections and adjustments will be the same, with and without a governor to trip. the

pawl 34, as. above described in regard to a construction wherein the levers 20 are shifted to put the valves 11 out of commission to get the engine running. When, however, compressed air is utilized to spray the fuel into the cylinders, the conduit lead In this instance, the fuel pump may be put backinto operative relation by hand or by the governor on the. shaft 36 and the air .pump may be ing from the compressed air reservoir to the valv'esll will have a stopcock therein to shut off the air when the valves 12 are opened. This cock may be opened by hand when the lever this .turned 'up; or it ma be connected to the governor on the she; t 36 to be openedautomatically when the cam 33 is released and the fuel pump allowed to commence working. Otherwise the method of starting will be the same as in the two in-- [stances involving the use of compressed a1r for fuel injection hereinbefore set forth.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 I show how my invention 1s applied to start a four-cycle engine;

- referring again to a two-cylinder construc tion. The four-cycle engine has exhaust valves 45 and inlet valves 46.v The exhaust. valves are opened by levers 47 and closed by springs 17; and similar levers may be employed for the inlet valves 46. In this type of engine, no extra valve to prevent compression by opening the engine is needed; and I make either the inlet or the exhaust valve serve that purpose. Preferably I take the exhaust valve 45, because sometimes the inlet valves willbe of the suction type, without cams and levers to open them while the engine is running To hold the inlet valves open, therefore, might require extra levers for starting; and I '-find it simpler and easier to make the exhaust valve levers prevent compression mfthe cylinders till the flywheel has been made to rotate as rapidly as necessary. I therefore mount the exhaust valve levers 47 onthe spindle 21 and provide eccentrics to shift them, the same as the eccentrics-22 for the fuel valve levers 20. But the eccentrics forthe levers 47- are set at a dilferent angle with respect to the eccentrics for the levers 20'; so that when the starting lever is moved-to full-line position shown in Fig. 5, the levers 47 will be actuated by their eccentrics and. depressed. They will, therefore, open the exhaust valves of the cylindersl; but their lower ends will not be moved away from the cams 24 on the shaft 25. Hence, when in such depressed position, these levers'a're engaged by the projections of their cams, the only eflect'will be to open .the exhaust valves a little farther. When the levers 47 are employed to open the suction or inlet valves also, these levers may. simply'be pivoted in-the ordinary way, without eccentrics, on the spindle 21.. In all other respects, the arrangement of parts is the same as in the two-cycle construction shown in Fi s. 1,2 and 3; exce t of course that the sha ofthe shaft 3.

T .start the engine shown in Fig. 6, the lever 31 is moved to rock the spindle 21; and the,eccentrics thereon for the levers 20 ,will move these levers so that their lower ends will be shif ed away from their cams 25 will run at ha f the speed I on the shaft 25, and the fuel supply thus be interrupted. The rocking of the spindle also effects the opening of the cylinders by de pressing the exhaust valve levers 47 by moving the eccentrics therefor downward, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. At the same time the pawl 33 is engaged by the pawl 34. The flywheel 7 is now rapidly rotated, and when it has energy enough, the lever 31 will be caused to move up to original position, restoring the fuel supply, and allowing the valves to close, except as actuated by their cams in the order which the cycle requires. The first piston which now effects full compression in its cylinder will produce an explosion; the other piston then compresses and an explosion takes place in the other cylinder also. Thus the engine falls easily and naturally into its cycle and almost immediately gets under way.

For a four-cylinder four-cycle engine, the starting apparatus is not varied. When the exhaust valve levers 47 hold the engine cylinders open no longer; compression in one of the cylinders will be effected to'the proper degree. In the usual construction of fourcycle engines having four cylinders, when one piston is compressing, there will be another piston moving inward at the same instant; but the cams and levers for the cylinder of the piston referred to will be in such positions that this piston will be making its exhaust stroke; hence the exhaust valve thereof will be held open by itscam 24; and the energy of the wheel 7 will not have to produce compression in more than one cylinder; whereby waste of energy of rotation will be obviated. I

Moreover,'at this instant, there will be two other pistons starting on their outstrokes; but one of them will be on its suction stroke, and the cylinder thereof will be opened in the regular way by its inlet valve. The fourth piston will bein such relation, with respect to the cams and levers associated with the cylinder thereof that it will be making what would correspond to the ignition or expansion stroke, and all the valves would normally be closed.- But as there is no combustion in the fourth cylinder at this junc ture, the piston therein will effect by suction the opening of the inlet valve, and perhaps the exhaust valve also, both of which move inward against springs. Hence the other two pistons do not have to overcome atmospheric pressure as they move outward after the catch 37 is tripped, and a further conservation of the energy of the flywheel is afi orded.

As soon as one cylinder has ignition, the

piston will be forced outward, and-another piston will move inward and compress the contents of its cylinder. Then compression and ignition will follow in the third and fourth cylinders; the pistons of which are moving outward when the first compression stroke is made, as above stated. The fourcylinder, four-cycle engine thus falls as easily and naturally into its regularmode of starting on its compression stroke or have its compression stroke half finished. In the former instance, the oil would be injected at the completion of the compression and ignition result; in the latter instance, ignition would not follow upon admission of the fuel because the compression would not be sufiicient. On the outstroke, however, the energy of compression would be given back to the piston till the pressure inthe cylinder equals that of the atmosphere; whereupon the exhaust valve would be held open'by suction, or the inlet valve be opened, for the rest of the stroke. Compression and ignition would then take place in the next cylinder. But in none of thecylinders would the movement of the pistons be impeded on the return of the spindle 21, except in that which is ready for compression. This is because the inlet and exhaust valves operate in the regular way and keep two of the other cylinders open. As for the remaining cylinder, the piston in which may be making what would correspond to the expansion stroke, this cylinder also would be opened to the atmosphere by suction overcoming the spring of the exhaust valve or the inlet valve; because there is no explosion in the cylinder referred to at this moment.

Herein lies the mechanical beauty, simplicity and efficiency of my starting system. The single step of rocking the spindle 21 backward after spinning the 11 .wheel and main shaft achieves my whole 0 ject.'

The-lever 31 can be caused to move back and release the valves 47 by hand when the fly-wheel 7 has energy enough; or by a governor, the same as in the two-cycle engine. capable of being employed-when either a force fuel pum or compressed air to inject the fuel is utilized; and all the adaptations afforded by the use offmy startingsystem with the two cycle engine are possible with the four-cycle-eng'ine as well.

For relatively-large engines, -it is important to close the engine cylinders and restore the fuel sup'ly at a definite point in the engine cycle. or-example, suppose that The four-cycle construction is-al'so the ratchet cam 33 should be released the instant when the piston shown in Fig. 1 is at the middle of its instroke. In such acase, as above stated, full compression would not be effected in the cylinder; and no explosion would follow. On the first half of the out stroke, the energy of compression will be given back to the piston; and then the piston will cause the valve 12 to open by suction; thus avoiding the drag or brake action of a partial vacuum. In a large engine, however, the springs 17 will have to be very strong; and the valve 12 might not open easily enough to prevent a partial vacuum. I therefore employ the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 for two-cycle engines; and the arrangement shown in Fig. 8 for engines of large size in the four-cycle type.

Referrin to Fig. 7, I make the pawl 34 integral wlth an arm 48, thus providing a bellcrank lever; and I mount this lever on an eccentric 49, rigid with the shaft or spindle 35. This spindle will have an oper-, ating arm 50. The bellcrank and the lever 50 will be between the cylinders, preferably; and the pawl 34 will normally be held by a spring, not shown, in position to engage the ratchet cam 33 when the lever 31 is pulled down. The spindle 35 will of course be rotatably, held in the arms 29. Below the shaft or spindle 21 and between the cams 24, a cam 24 will be mounted on the shaft 25; and this cam may have two noses thereon to engage the lower end of the arm48.

In operation, the lever 31 is first pulled down, and the spindle 21 locked by the pawl 34 engaging the cam 33. The flywheel is now rapidly rotated; but before the flywheel is started, the lever 50 is moved to operate the eccentric 49, and move the arm 48 away from the cam 24. This can easily be done without disengaging pawl 34.. As soon as the fly-wheel has energy enough, the

' lever 50 is now raised to move the lower end of the arm 48 against the cam 24. On the cam 24' bringing one of its projections into position to actuate the arm 48, the pawl 34 will be released; and the spindle 21 allowed to return to its original position; whereby the engine cylinder can be closed and the fuel supply restored, in the manner above described.

The cam .24 will of course be timed so that it will trip the pawl 34 on the instant when the piston 2 is about to start on its instroke. Then the piston will effect full compression, and an explosion will be sure to take place. As the fuel valve in a'Diesel engine usually remains open for about 10 degrees of outstroke, I prefer to time the cam 24 to operate when the piston 2 is already 10 degrees on its instroke. Then there will be no danger of any fuel valve being opened and fuel injected before compression begins. It will be readily seen that this is of some importance for the reason that if any fuel were injected behind the piston moving out, while the piston in Fig. 2 moves inward, this fuel wouldfbe wasted.

For a four-cycle engine of large size, the arrangement shown in Fig. 8 is employed. The only difference with respect to the devices shown in Fig. 7 lies in the fact that with a two-cylinder two-cycle engine the cam 24 may have two projections, so that if lever 50 is raised too late for one cylinder, an explosion may follow immediately in the next cylinder- With a two-cylinder fourcycle engine, however, only oneprojection on the cam 24' can be used. If the lever 50 is lifted too late for one cylinder, ready for its compression stroke, the engine will not be closed and the fuel supply restored till that cylinder is again ready for its compression stroke.

The arrangements shown in Figs. 7 and 8 can of course be used on four-cylinder engines as well, without change. Further, the lever 50 can be operated by hand or by a governor, such as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The manipulations and adjustments to operate will be the same as in the instances above noted. The governor will move the arm 48 against the cam 24' when the speed of the flywheel is high enough; and the cam 24 will then trip the pawl 34 at the right point in the cycle.

From the above description, it will be ap- 'ployed my system'has its peculiar advantages; as a single air reservoir of relatively small size, and a small a1r pump, such as 1 indicate at 44, can easily and conveniently be disposed on the framework of an automobile, without getting into the way of anything else.

The motor to spin the flywheel, when handcranks are impracticable on account of k the size of the engine, need never be large;

and it can be run on current from an ordinary ignition batter It can be clutched in to the front end 0 the shaft 3; or if preferred the clutch may be omitted, and the motor allowed to run idly by breaking the current circuit after the engine is in motion.

I of course desire that the above description, taken with the accompanying drawings be construed as illustrative only; and I do not wish to be limited to the exact arrangement and construction set forth. My starting system is capable of much variation as to details; and I desire to protect the principle of my invention, which involves broadly preventing compression and then spinning the flywheel and crankshaft till there is enough energy to make the pistons produce the high compression .necessary, in its essential form. I therefore reserve the right to make such changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts as fairly fall within the scope and spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new and desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. Starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a flywheel and a piston, comprising a valve, a lever to move the same to open the interior of the engine, said engine also having a fuel valve and a lever therefor, a spindle on which said levers are mounted, an eccentric on the spindle to engage the fuel valve lever, means on the spindle to engage the first-named lever, an arm on the spindleto rock the same to open the first valve and cause the fuel valve lever tobe rendered inoperative, a catch to hold the spindle after being rocked, means for rotating the flywheel, and a spring to cause the spindle to return to original position, whereby, when the energy of the flywheel is great enough, the catch can be released, and the pistons compress the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge.

2. The method of starting an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, which consists in preventing compression in said engine, imparting a relatively large quantity of motion to the flywheel, and then allowing compression in the engine at a definite point in the cycle thereof when the kinetic energy of rotation stored in the flywheel is sufficient to compress the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge.

3. The method of starting an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, which consists in preventing compression in said engine and interrupting the fuel supply, imparting a relatively large quantity of motion to the flywheel, and then allowing compression in the engine at a definite point in the cycle thereof and restoring the fuel suppl when the kinetic energy of rotation stored in the flywheel is great enough to compress the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge.

4. The method of startin an internal combustion engine having a ywheel, which consists in opening the interior of the engine,

1,27e,ese

imparting a relatively large quantity .of motion to the flywheel, and closing the interior of the engine at a definite point in the cycle thereof when the kinetic energy of rotation storedin the flywheel is sufiicient to compress the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the, fuel charge.

5. The method of starting an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, which consists in opening the interior of the engine and interrupting the fuel supply, imparting a relatively large quantity of motion to the flywheel, and closing the interior of the engine at a definite point in the cycle thereof and restoring the fuel supply, when the kinetic energy of rotation stored in the flywheel is great enough to compress the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge. r

6. Starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, comprising means for preventing compression in said engine, means for rotating the flywheel till the kinetic energy of rotation stored therein is sufiicient to produce compression of the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge, and means for then allowing compression at a definite point in the engine cycle.

7. Starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, com prising means for opening the interior .of the engine, means for rotating the flywheel till the kinetic energy of rotation stored therein is great enough to produce compression of the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge, and means for then closing the engine at a definite point in the engine cycle.

8. Starting mechanism for internal combustion engines having a flywheel, comprising means'for opening the interior of the engine and interrupting the fuel supply, means for rotating the flywheel till the kinetic energy of rotation stored therein is great enough to produce compression of the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge, and means for then closing the engine at a definite point in the engine cycle.

9. Starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, comprising means for preventing compression in the engine and interrupting the fuel supply, means for rotating the flywheel till the kinetic energy of rotation stored therein is great enough to eflect compression of the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge, and means for then allowing compression at a definite point in the engine cycle. 1

10. Starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine havinga flywheel, comprising a valve for openlng the interior of the engine, means for actuating the valve and interrupting the fuel supply, means for rotating the flywheel till the kinetic energy of rotation stored therein is great enough to compress the contents of the engine to the ignition point of the fuel charge, and means for then allowing the valve to close at a definite point in the engine cycle, and the fuel supply to be restored.

11. Starting mechanism for an internal combustion engine having a flywheel, comprising a valve for openlng the interior of the engine, means for actuating the valve and interrupting the fuel supply, means for holding the actuating means'in operative position, said last-named means comprising a bellcrank lever, a cam for moving the bellcrank to relea the actuatin means, and a shifting device 0 put the belfizrank into and out of operative relation with said cam, whereby the bellcrank can be moved to release the actuating means and efiect the closing of the engine and the restoration of the fuel supply at a definite point in the engine 0 c e.

Signed at New York,- in the county of Kings and Stateof New York this 11th day of July A. D. 1914.

HENRY W. BENDER. Witnesses:

WM. F. NICKEL, H. BIRNBAOH. 

